Protecting Innocence
by Rosenqueen
Summary: ItaSaku Itachi and Sakura met one day when they were much younger. Somehow, the two found a kindred spirit in each other, the healer and the inner-pacifist. How exactly does that mess up their lives? Afterall, falling in love with a missing nin isn't something a young life loving girl should do, and falling for a girl like Sakura just spells out trouble for missing nins.
1. Love ?

"Love makes us kind when even life leaves us behind" -Anonymous

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"Itachi!"

Pink. That was the only colour he could see before he felt his breath leave his lungs. Arms snaked around his back as he tried to regain his footing and failing as he felt his back hit the soft earth bellow. Holding her tight, he rested his head on top of hers while she snuggled against his chest. For a while he could only hear the calm thudding of her heart.

Pulling away to see her face, the bright viridian orbs seem to light up the moment she saw him. '_It has been far too long…' _he mused to himself. How he loved those eyes. They looked at him without any fear, guilelessly, innocently, and sweetly, like he was a man and not some horrid monster. To him they were the eyes of an angel, his personal treasure that he guarded over zealously.

"I've missed you so much…" she exclaimed in a breathy way. She had a smile on her face, giddy that he returned to her.

A small chuckle slipped from his lips at her excitement, he moved his arms from the small of her back to her head. Marvelling over and over at the softness of her long, luscious hair as he gently stroked her. The sunlight that streamed through the canopy of the forest only helped enhance her allure. This was what he returned to, every single time he went through hell, it was always her who greeted him back.

Like a flower under the light, he flourished under her gentle attention. The way her eyes searched his entire frame, trying to find any signs of injury that he may have hidden. Her soft hands, as they touched his face or her eyes when she looked at him with all her kindness and love. This was what healed his old, broken soul. Her smiles were like a salve; fixing his heart each time he looked them.

Now, in this clearing somewhere in the forests of the country that he used to call his home he felt whole again.

"I told you I would always return back to you, Sakura." The smooth baritone pierced through the calm serenity of the forest.

Pushing himself up to a somewhat upright position, he saw her smile again. She blushed prettily as he allowed the smallest of smiles to escape. His smile was always so gentle and tender and she knew that it was only for her. He never looked this way with anyone else. She loved it whenever she could see his dark brown eyes, the way they made her feel like he trusted her. Not the infamous red Sharingan, the image so many sees as their final view of the world.

His brown eyes fit him so much better anyways.

"You wouldn't have to return if you just let me come along with you." She mumbled as she rests her head again on his chest. Her hands gripped his shoulders lightly,

"And you know that it's –"

"Too dangerous, I can't get you involved… blah blah blah" her head shot up as soon as she interrupted his sentence only to give an annoyed glare before she sighed.

"I know that you're worried for me, but don't you think I worry about you too? You silly man." She poked his chest, right at his heart. Slowly her irritated expression melts away to one of sadness.

"I just don't want to be left behind all the time, I want to be by your side, not just praying for your safe return." Her eyes dulled, slowly losing the fire that he held loved so dearly.

"Hn." It wasn't that he wanted her to feel like she was just a burden to him. She was just too precious, too gentle and pure. He wanted to protect that innocence in her for as long as he can, so that she would not lose it as quickly as he had.

He loved her. That much was clear. He loved her for being both strong and gentle, for the way she soothes not injure. Her profession as a medic nin was a testament to her kind nature. The way she would try to save everyone, regardless of who they are or what they had done. It appealed to him in a way that no battle could ever do. Beneath that kind heart he knew that she was far from being a pushover. She was strong enough to hold her ground, to fight for her ideals.

And that just made her all the more fascinating to him.

Like a moth drawn towards a flame, he was drawn towards her. She was everything he wanted, something that captivated his inner pacifist. She was the order in his chaos and for that very reason; he would see to it that she would never see the frontlines. That meant that he would never allow her to accompany him for any of his missions. Even if it hurts her, he hopes that she would understand. It would kill him if he ever knew that she lost her gentle nature because of him.

Her eyes were downcast, upset that she was being treated like a child again. Her hands clutched harder on his cloak. A black cloak littered by ominous red clouds. She felt useless whenever she had to wait for him to return. All that she could ever do every time he left was to see him off, giving him a small token and a smile. No matter how much it hurts, she would always force herself to smile, no matter what she wanted him to remember her fondly with only her smile. Not her tears. She figured that he had enough to worry about as he fought than her unhappiness.

His lips touched her forehead. A chaste brush but it was enough for her to brighten up again. He never was one for words, preferring to let his actions bring the message and she never minded that, it was a part of him that she loved dearly. She never wanted him to change.

… Okay, maybe it wouldn't hurt if he stopped being so overprotective all the time but the point is she loved him enough to understand that he must have a reason for doing this to her.

'_Well if I can't fight with him, then the least I can do is to welcome him back with a smile!'_ she cheered herself on before giving him her brightest of smiles.

Seeing his smirk, she finally remembered that they were in a very, very compromising position. Her legs were entwined with his; one of her hands lay flat against his chest while the other now held his face. One of his hands propped them up while the other rested on her lower back. Their faces were impossibly close, letting her see into his warm brown eyes as he stared at her curious green ones. This realisation made her blush in embarrassment, as her blush spread towards her body, it made her look like a human tomato. Immediately she pushed herself off him and quickly looked the other way. Completely mortified that in her excitement of his return she caused all that.

Hearing the sounds of rustling fabric along with the sounds of the forest, she slowly turned around when she felt a hand gently patting her head. Looking up to see him, she gave a bashful smile. The wind came as a gentle breeze, like a kiss of cold air on her skin as she slowly calmed down from her previous blunder. When she saw the gentle expression on his face, she forgot all of her exasperated thoughts and gave him a sweet smile.

"Welcome home Itachi."

In that moment, with the way the breeze made her long hair dance, and the way the light caressed her face, Itachi felt like he was a blessed man. Seeing her smile and her other cute expressions that she made as she sat quietly made him feel a contentment like no other. Her innocent green eyes shined with joy and that had only made him fall deeper in love with his sweet angel. Truly, she is his most precious person.

"I'm back, Sakura."

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AN: Hey guys! Thank you for reading this. This is the first time I wrote a story so thank you so much for reading this. *happy tears* I would love to hear your thought and ideas about this, and yes constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. I'll be great if you guys could drop me a review, again thanks :D


	2. When I first met you

"Promise me to never kill more than what you have to."

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Sometimes, he wondered how was it that he was so lucky to have her all to himself. Itachi sighed as he took in the sleeping medic nin's form. Her soft pink hair was splayed over the pillows; her soft deep even breaths calmed him. He then leaned closer to her, moving away some of her stray hair from her face. The cold rain fell moments after they reached their hut, hidden in the woods. Only here could they be safe to meet, with all the traps that he had put in place.

He remembered it like it was yesterday, how they had first met by chance so many years ago. He was 12 years old at the time while she was 8; he was rushing through the forests around Konoha, yearning to go back home to meet his younger brother after a gruellingly tough mission. He was soaked with sweat and blood, mostly that of his enemies. After all he was the youngest ANBU member in history, it wouldn't do for him to be grievously injured.

It was then he met her, for the very first time. Sakura was a very cute child, with her wide, curious green eyes and soft pink hair. Her slightly rounded face and stubby little arms suited her youth, and the way she would look at the world with wonderment made him stop his mad dash. Then he did something that was strange even for him, he stopped to stare. To just silently admire that young child who was just sitting there playing in a flower field in the forest, looking so in tune with nature. She held in her hand some of the wildflowers that grew there. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she weaved stem after stem into a flower crown.

Then, to his utter annoyance, he made the dumbest mistake that even mere genins would not do. He stepped on a twig. A. Bloody. Twig. And it just had to make the loudest crack it could possibly make, making both him and the young girl tense up. Itachi grumbled softly under his breath, really give him a battle and he could come out unscathed but distract him with a little girl with flowers and he becomes this stumbling oaf. The word embarrassed does not even begin to cover what he's feeling right now, if Shisui ever hears about this, he would never live it down. Feeling thankful for his mask as he nearly lost his composure, he took a breath to calm himself.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Sakura asked hesitantly. She could have sworn that she heard a crack somewhere and it scared her a little bit.

_'Maybe its some of the bigger animals that mummy warned me about._' She thought uneasily. She looked around, trying to search the source of the noise, like how she was taught to do in the ninja academy.

Then she saw from far away that something stepped out of the forest and into the clearing. She squinted her eyes to get a better look and all that she could make out was a figure of a boy, not too much older than her in stained ANBU guards.

_'I may be 8 years old but I'm not silly, anyone could have recognised that uniform!'_ she thought to herself proudly.

Seeing that the boy is approaching her flower field, Sakura stared carefully at the man, only to realise that he was not being very careful at all about his surroundings. Noting that, she immediately ran towards him, dropping her unfinished flower crown somewhere in the field. Carefully yet quickly she made her way over, making sure to not step on any of the flowers. The boy was close to stepping on the precious flowers she panicked.

"Wait! Stop!" Sakura yelled out to the boy, sighing in relief when she noticed that he stopped.

When she finally reached him, she panted softly since the whole events gave her a little shock. She looked up to see him staring at her through the weasel ANBU mask, and so she gave him her best angry face.

"See Mister! You weren't very careful at all! You ruined the flowers!" Sakura exclaimed angrily, her arms moved widely while her fingers pointed to the poor flowers that were crushed underneath Itachi's foot.

"Ah… I'm very sorry then." Itachi calmly spoke after she finished her mini lecture on the importance of flowers and all other living things.

Inwardly he smiled to himself. The little girl was interesting in the way that she was upset about him crushing the 'poor flowers' as she put so herself. He crouched himself to her height after removing his foot away. He laughed slightly at the way her eyes darted from him to the crushed flowers, how her green eyes seem to flare in childish anger. Itachi was in a novel experience, it wasn't everyday that he was scolded by a little eight year old with pink hair and green eyes over the death of flowers. He then saw that she immediately bent over to remove the crushed flowers from the ground. Curious, he stopped her hand gently.

"What are you doing?" Itachi asked.

"Removing the dead flowers." Sakura pouted. "Even if it's sad it has to go now to make space for the other flowers to grow." It was obvious that she was still distressed over the fate of the flowers that had met their untimely death by his hands; perhaps his foot would be a more accurate description.

"I see… then let me do that since it was my fault in the first place." Itachi then softly pushed her hand away from the crushed stems of the flower that he then dug out of the ground before leaving it dug out.

"Next time, you need to be more careful okay?" Sakura berated for the last time before noticing that the boy in front of her had blood everywhere, making her eyes widen in shock.

"Mister! Are you okay? You're bleeding" Sakura gasped. Freaking out as this was her very first time seeing someone with a lot of blood.

Flowers forgotten, her little arms reached out to him. Grasping his hands with a firm but gentle strength surprising for such a young girl. She brought him to the flower fields; her dainty feet ensured that she did not step on the soft flowers' stem.

"Come sit! You must be in pain mister!" Sakura tugged at his arm, careful to not jostle the parts where there was blood. She then sat on the soft ground of the flower fields, gesturing for him to do the same.

Choosing to humour the little girl, Itachi obediently sat down in front of her, careful to not sit on top of the flowers lest she tries to give him another lecture. He watched as she scrunched up her little face into a frown before reaching out behind one of the flower outcrops to see healing salves and bandages.

"Mister you have to remove your armour, I can't see where the wounds are like this." Sakura gestured to the bloody armour; slightly afraid of the wounds she may see. She steeled herself to be brave, if she wants to be a medic nin, this is only the first step.

Curious to what she would do, Itachi just did as she asked and took off his chest plate. He watched as the girl assessed him with a surprised look on her face. He knew that he wasn't really injured; perhaps there may be some small cuts here and there or a bruise or two but nothing that warrants the amount of blood on his armour. The girl then just stared at the minor cuts before moving to tend to them.

She gently cleaned the wounds with some antiseptic that she had in her kit, which she pulled out from behind one of the wildflower bunches. Her touch gentle, not wanting to cause any more unnecessary pain. Once it was clean, she gave a small smile to herself before bandaging it tightly. She repeated the same motions over and over to all of the little cuts and wounds all over his body and he kept silent, mesmerised at the young girl's understanding of cleaning wounds. After all, little girls should not be this good at first aid.

Sakura then gave the boy one last good look to check that she bandaged each wound and gave a self-satisfied smile. She managed to remember the things that she learned in her first aid classes. Such things were important too! Since she wanted to be a medic nin she must at least know how to bandage a cut.

"There! All done mister" Sakura smiled brightly at the boy. Glad that she was able to help alleviate some of his pain.

Itachi was dumbstruck, for a genius of his calibre to be made speechless it would take some kind of earth shattering event. For others, the smile of a young child would be a common thing, but geniuses never see things the same way as normal people did. To him, her smile reminded him of what he fought for. Not just for Konoha, but also for her children. The innocent children who could give such beautifully pure smiles. Ones without the taint of war and death, the normal shinobi trade.

It humbled him in a way. How the girl had so readily helped him in her own meagre way, without knowing his identity. The mere thought of her kindness surprised him. Never did he expect to see such kindness in his world. In his family, only his mother would ever come close to this young child. His mother would never heal a stranger nin, they were all too jaded, too disillusioned with the world.

"Thank you." Itachi replied quietly, he felt himself smile at the face of this girls joy.

Then a small part of his mind wondered where did this young girl learn how to clean cuts and bandage shallow wounds. Girls her age should be thinking about some strange daydream of princes and castles, not bandaging wounds. Logically such skill must arise from some form of need but the image of the young girl wounded in any way roused his anger. Now that was very uncharacteristic of him.

Lost in his own thoughts, Itachi never noticed that the girl stared at him in childlike wonder.

Sakura looked at the sitting boy, she stared at the ANBU mask. Curiosity crept on her mind; she wanted to touch the mask. Was it a smooth porcelain or grainy wood? How did it stay up securely all the time? Was it hard to breathe with them on? So many questions she wanted to ask but she knew it was rude. Deciding not to ask such questions, she decided to do the next best thing. She just sat, and stared at the mask.

After berating himself for being so thoroughly distracted, Itachi saw the girls green eyes spark intelligently. He could tell from the way she was staring at his mask that she was curious about it. The girl probably never realised it herself but she was fidgeting badly. Itachi pondered on the merits of removing his mask, to satisfy her curiosity or if he should just keep silent. He then decided to just wait until she asked him about the mask before doing anything about it.

"Umm… Mister? Can I ask you about the mask?" Sakura said after a few minutes of silence. She couldn't take it anymore, she wanted to know.

Itachi smiled softly, or what was considered a smile for him. He then went and undid the ties of his mask. Feeling the cool air kiss his face, he then smoothly removed the mask and passed it to the young girl.

Sakura gasped. She didn't think that the ANBU would give her his mask so readily. Weren't they supposed to hide their identities? Seeing that this may be the only time she could satisfy her curiosity Sakura took the mask in her small hands.

It felt cool to the touch, smooth but flexible, so foreign to young Sakura. It felt like nothing she could name. Seeing the leather string attached to the mask, she then found all the answers to her questions. Completely sated, Sakura then looked up to see the masked (or was it unmasked now) nin's face.

Even children could appreciate beauty, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Itachi was a very handsome young boy. His pale skin was unblemished and smooth, covering his aristocratic features. High cheekbones and a sharp, straight nose made him a delight to the females in the village but it was his eyes that really took their breath away. His eyes were dark brown, like molten chocolate but they were always guarded, making him seem all the more mysterious. His gaze was sure and true, making it seem like he could see all of your secrets laid bare in front of him. Two frown lines stretched from the inner corners of his eyes to the outer corners of his lips making him seem older than he is.

Sakura was no different from the other children, she stared silently, her mouth shaping into an 'O' as she saw the boys face. Itachi found the gesture to be oddly endearing as he watched her green eyes widen. He noted that her eyes were far too different from his own in the way they portray vividly their owner's thoughts. Innocent, guileless eyes nurtured with kindness and love, safe from violence and filled with all the imaginations a young girl should have. All this he saw in her and it made him glad.

Perhaps that was what drew him to her, the way that they were complete opposites of each other. How he had from a young age hurt and killed while she soothed and healed, or how he was guarded and cold while she was vivid and warm. Then again, none of it truly matters; all that he knew for certain was that this meeting had sparked an attraction for her. This curiosity would lead to something greater later on in his life.

The sun slowly came to a descent and it was then Sakura snapped out of it. A blush bloomed over her cheeks as she realised that she was caught staring. Itachi gave an amused quirk of his lips, as we all know an Uchiha never smiles, they smirk but they do not smile. She snapped her mouth shut and gave him a sheepish look, slightly embarrassed to be caught red handed. After all, staring is impolite for young Sakura.

It was then Sakura realised that the hour was late and she was way past curfew.

'Oh no! I must have missed dinner, mum will definitely ground me again.' Sakura paled and cringed.

"It is late, will your parents not ask for you?" Itachi started, seeing her shake like a leaf in the wind.

"Yeah! Mummy will be so worried now…" Sakura trailed off, thinking about the now dark forest paths that she has to go through to reach home. She sighed inwardly, knowing that it was her fault that she lost track of time.

Itachi then started walking back towards the forests. When Sakura saw this, she started to panic, thinking that she would be left alone; she forgot all about her unfinished flower crown and grabbed her medical kit. Seeing that she was not following him, Itachi stopped to turn to her.

"Come, I shall take you back." Itachi then crouched down, waiting for her to come. As she came closer, he then picked her up and gave her a piggyback ride.

"Hold on tight okay?" Sakura nodded. Itachi then flew through the forest back to Konoha, jumping gracefully from tree to tree, making Sakura shriek with glee.

"Hey mister, what's your name?" Sakura asked after her small giggle fit.

"Uchiha Itachi" He answered, realising that he had broken one of the rules for ANBU yet strangely, he couldn't care less.

"Well my name is Haruno Sakura! One day I'll be one of the best medic nins!" Sakura cheered; glad to start babbling in her childish rants, as she felt somewhat safe with this stranger.

Itachi was well practiced in taking care of little kids like Sakura; after all he had Sasuke who loved to ramble in the same way. Hearing of her ambitions to be a medic nin, Itachi was pleased to see that the young Sakura was a pacifist, which in his eyes suited her nature.

'_Without a doubt, she may be a wonderful medic nin_.' He mused.

Soon, the large gates of Konohagakure came to view and just as easily he soared past it. (ANBU need to go through the formalities of paperwork when they enter the village) He then made his way to the civilian district and walked along the main roads. Sakura with her little arms directed him to a modest house in the merchant area. The lights were on and there was the smell of cooked food, making Itachi rather hungry himself. Flowers bloomed around the house, beautifully cradling it in a wonderful heady scent.

He placed Sakura down gently on the front steps, which she bounded eagerly along to the door. She then turned around and flashed him a cute little smile and waved goodbye to him.

"Thank you Itachi nii" her entire face just glowed with her childish flush and smile. He merely nodded before making his way over to the Uchiha district. In the background he could hear her mother come to take her.

"Hey mummy! I made a new friend today"

And the rest of it became obscured as he went further away from the house. The realisation that it was almost dinnertime struck Itachi then. He sighed, knowing that he would receive an earful from his little brother for almost being late. Itachi loved Sasuke, he really did but sometimes he wondered how he had the patience to deal with him on certain days. Squaring his shoulders, he walked confidently through the front gates of the district and later the front door of his own home.

"Aniki! You're late! Mum already started dinner." Just as expected, Sasuke greeted him with his own version of a lecture. His chubby face was screwed to what he thought was a menacing frown but to Itachi that just made him look even more like his cute baby brother.

"You could have started eating without me Sasuke." Itachi replied in his cool voice before poking his brother right on the middle of his forehead.

"Hey! That hurts!" Sasuke whined, clutching the spot Itachi just poked.

Hearing his little brothers unhappy whining and his parents curious stares at his uncharacteristic tardiness, Itachi still could not find any reason to regret delaying his arrival back due to that strange pink haired girl. In fact, he would not have it any other way.

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**AN:** Thank you all for your reviews :) they really made my day when I got them...

as for their ages, I did a little flashback thing so.. it is different, in this chapter Sakura's 8 and Itachi's 12.

I'm also really sorry for the late upload, I was overseas last week...

anyways please review :) constructive criticism is appreciated


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